Several questions in Michigan part 2

[SecurityGuy]

Hello,

I work for a security company (physical and event security) and I have several questions but will post them individually to assist in not confusing the issues.

My second question is this.

My employer has a benefits policy for "full-time" employees but not all "full-time" employees. Can a company offer benefits to some but not all "full-time" employees? The "full-time" employees I'm referring to are not only senior management personnel but also employees within my same pay grade.

TIA

[Pattymd]

What IS the criteria? Have you figured it out? It is not inherently illegal to offer benefits to, for example, full-time and not part-time, or management but not nonmanagement, or to office staff, but not line staff, etc.

But first of all, we need to know what benefits you are talking about. Medical insurance, vacation, sick, or what?

[SecurityGuy]

What IS the criteria? Have you figured it out? It is not inherently illegal to offer benefits to, for example, full-time and not part-time, or management but not nonmanagement, or to office staff, but not line staff, etc.

But first of all, we need to know what benefits you are talking about. Medical insurance, vacation, sick, or what?

The usual benefits:
Medical
PTO (not Vacation)
AD&D
Life insurance
Vacation

[Pattymd]

For benefits that are regulated by ERISA, such as medical insurance, the employer MUST follow the plan rules exactly or jeopardize the tax-preferred (assumedly) status of the plan. By law, the employer is required to give you a copy of the Summary Plan Document upon request, so ask HR for it for the medical insurance, especially.

Generally speaking, the other benefits you reference are not regulated by ERISA (though there can be exceptions) and therefore, the company may "discriminate" as long as such discrimination is not based on a Title VII characteristic, such as your race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, etc.

HR should also be able to explain who is eligible for what benefits and who is not.

[SecurityGuy]

For benefits that are regulated by ERISA, such as medical insurance, the employer MUST follow the plan rules exactly or jeopardize the tax-preferred (assumedly) status of the plan. By law, the employer is required to give you a copy of the Summary Plan Document upon request, so ask HR for it for the medical insurance, especially.

Generally speaking, the other benefits you reference are not regulated by ERISA (though there can be exceptions) and therefore, the company may "discriminate" as long as such discrimination is not based on a Title VII characteristic, such as your race, gender, religion, ethnic origin, etc.

HR should also be able to explain who is eligible for what benefits and who is not.

Thanks for the reply. I'll contact HR as soon as I can.

[cbg]

Be aware that, as long as properly set out by the plan document, a policy that provided benefits to, say, full time employees in the Accounting Department but not full time employees in Research and Development would be perfectly legal.

In other words, it is not inherent in the law that all full time employees be eligible if some are.

[DAW]

Agreed with all the above. Which is why it is so important to actually read all available plans and policies. ERISA level benefits (medical, retirement) must have a Summary Plan Document and the employer must give copies of the SPD to the employee if asked. The government can seriously hurt any employer who fails to do so. But not all benefits are ERISA level, most in fact are not, meaning most benefits have a lot less law behind them. Past that, what CBG said. The law does not say that benefits must look a certain way or that different employees cannot receive different benefit packages. The law simply restricts the possible reasons the employee is allowed to do that.

There may or may not be a good solution available for the OP, but all answers start with reading your company's SPD and benefit plans. Find out what your company's rules are, and whether or not the company is actually following their own rules. Then see if the rules are legal. It is possible to write some truly dippy benefit plans that are perfectly legal.